Updated 11.10am with FMAP statement

Malta’s tuna farming sector has received a boost from Brussels after the European Commission agreed to increase the cap on the amount of fish local ranchers can breed this year.

The new limit will add 1,474 tons to the existing cap, the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry said, meaning local tuna farms will be allowed to accept up to a total of 10,260 tons of the fish during the 2021 season.

Fisheries Minister Anton Refalo said he met with European Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicus this week and to thank him for the decision and promise him the full cooperation of Maltese authorities in efforts to ramp up controls on the tuna farming sector.

Tuna farming was rocked by allegations of fraud some years ago, with operators revealed to have been allowed to continue operating despite breaching permit conditions and a massive criminal investigation in Spain reaching all the way to Maltese shores.

That case in Spain, which is still ongoing, triggered a local magisterial inquiry into the black market for fish.

In its statement announcing the increased cap for farmed tuna, the ministry said it would continue to work towards reforming the Fisheries Department to ensure compliance with EU control and enforcement standards.

The industry’s lobby group, FMAP, said that the increased cap would lead to a 15 per cent increase in tuna exports this year. 

FMAP chief executive officer Charlon Gouder said the sector had exported an estimated €185 million worth of tuna in 2020, up from €169.9 million in the previous year. 

He said the increased cap would add around €15 million worth of exports to the sector this year. 

Correction April 3: A previous version misstated the volume of fish allowed under the EU caps.